Richard Schiff

Birthday: 27 May 1955, Bethesda, Maryland, USA

Height: 178 cm

Richard was the middle of three sons born to Edward, a real estate lawyer, and Charlotte, a cable TV and publishing executive. His parents divorced when he was 12. He dropped out of high school but obtained an equivalency diploma. He tried studying at the City College of New York (CCNY) in 1973, but had no interest. After not bothering to show up for finals, he headed to Colorado where he cut firewood and lived a hippie life. He returned to New York in 1975 and started studying acting at CCNY and eventually was accepted into their theater program. He initially disliked acting and studied to be a director. He directed several off-Broadway plays, including "Antigone" with a then just-graduated Angela Bassett in 1983. He also met present wife, Sheila Kelley, during auditions for this play. The two married in 1996. In the mid-1980s, Richard says he conquered his fears and decided to take a stab at acting. He got several TV roles, but he was seen by Steven Spielberg in an episode of the TV drama High Incident (1996). Spielberg then cast him in The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997) and his career has been on an upward climb ever since that has led to his co-starring role in The West Wing (1999). Show less «

I was doing a play out in L.A. 20-some-odd years ago called 'Goose and Tomtom' by David Rabe, and so...Show more »

I was doing a play out in L.A. 20-some-odd years ago called 'Goose and Tomtom' by David Rabe, and somebody saw it and the next thing I know I'm doing the table read of the film version of 'Glengarry Glen Ross' with Al Pacino and Jack Lemmon - one of the great films of our generation. Show less «

It seems not to matter that we are at the brink of a war that may spread beyond Afghanistan and Iraq...Show more »

It seems not to matter that we are at the brink of a war that may spread beyond Afghanistan and Iraq to Iran and Georgia and then where? To Syria? To North Korea? To China? That we in America are in economic doldrums and are seeing small businesses fold and houses reclaimed by banks and a smouldering panic that is palpable everywhere. Show less «

I mean everyone, from Al Pacino to Murphy Guyer, are phenomenal actors.

I wanna be in action movies, I wanna be the tough guy... I wanna scare people.

My favourite British spots are any of the beautiful parks, especially on a sunny day such as this, a...Show more »

My favourite British spots are any of the beautiful parks, especially on a sunny day such as this, after a long stretch of cold, cloudy and rainy days. Show less «

We are often too late with our brilliance. We are on time delay. The only instant gratification come...Show more »

We are often too late with our brilliance. We are on time delay. The only instant gratification comes in the form of potato chips. The rest will find us by surprise somewhere down the road maybe as we sleep and dream of other things. Show less «

I love my wife... but sometimes not so much. Frustration and fights can muck up a good thing. And ju...Show more »

I love my wife... but sometimes not so much. Frustration and fights can muck up a good thing. And just when a thing can move past differences and into the realm of peace and prosperity, another thing - an old idea or new interpretation or any spark that relights the paradigms that comfort us - will keep us where we are, where it is safe. Show less «

I imagine an America that can actually change. That we become a nation that prospers again but witho...Show more »

I imagine an America that can actually change. That we become a nation that prospers again but without pillaging the resources of nations that make their people hate us. That we become a nation that, as the constitution says in its preamble, its very first paragraph, 'promotes the general welfare' of its people. Show less «

I remember the day Richard Nixon won in 1968. That was a time that seemed certain to bring about lon...Show more »

I remember the day Richard Nixon won in 1968. That was a time that seemed certain to bring about long awaited seismic change in America. But events of tragic proportion took us on a turn. Bobby Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Jr. were suddenly dead. Show less «

I have to admit I've rarely been happier in my life. I have been absolutely thrilled to be back in N...Show more »

I have to admit I've rarely been happier in my life. I have been absolutely thrilled to be back in New York and living a block from where I grew up. Just to be back in New York and, quite honestly, away from Hollywood has been an absolute thrill for me. I feel like I'm a real actor again. Show less «

It was tough doing 'Underneath the Lintel' in New Jersey in the wintertime, but rewarding. Those aud...Show more »

It was tough doing 'Underneath the Lintel' in New Jersey in the wintertime, but rewarding. Those audiences were lively and interactive. On-stage was great, but off-stage was difficult. Show less «

I am one of the lucky ones; believe me, I haven't forgotten that.

I love David Fincher - even though it was just two scenes, I loved the way we worked and could tell ...Show more »

I love David Fincher - even though it was just two scenes, I loved the way we worked and could tell by the way he was shooting it that this was going to be an affective movie to say the least. Show less «

Every role is challenging in its own way, but the most challenging roles are the ones that are badly...Show more »

Every role is challenging in its own way, but the most challenging roles are the ones that are badly written - then it's completely up to you to come up with something that is interesting to the story and myself as an actor. Show less «

Listen - I like musicals. Even when they're bad, there's a couple of dancers I can watch.

I fell in love with my wife twenty years ago. I am only now, it seems, getting it through my very th...Show more »

I fell in love with my wife twenty years ago. I am only now, it seems, getting it through my very thick skull how lucky I am. Show less «

Things happen to us and reaction is sometimes tough to measure.

I've been very lucky not to have turned down too many roles that I've later regretted.

Richard Schiff

Richard Schiff's FILMOGRAPHY

Richard Schiff'S roles

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